Bob of Small End (55 page)

“
Hem!
Maybe you’re right. Let’s just put a toy inside and see if it’s
worth risking that.”

“
Okay
but I still won’t think we should use plastic Ken, even if it does
look nice.”

“
Okay.
Then we won’t, though I’m not sure you’re right Bob because just
about every thing has a plastic wrapping these days and customers
are used to seeing what they’re buying.”

“
But
that’s my point. Our toys appeal to those who don’t think in the
same way.”

“
You
don’t think that more people would buy them if they could see what
was in the box?”

“
Well
they can see what they’re buying—in the window display.”

“
They
don’t display all that’s in the sets I bet.”

“
No but
they’ll be shown if they’re interested.”

“
All
right. I give in. We’ll not use the plastic tops. Where are you
going today?”

“
Southampton and the eastern areas. I’ll go through Twinner
and ask Leo when he could have lunch. It has to be on a Monday or
Tuesday Jenny says.”

“
Let’s
suggest Monday June 3rd. I’ll make sure I don’t arrange anything
else for that day. Is that date okay with you?”

“
Yes it
is.”

Craig arrived
shortly afterwards and Bob asked him to help unload the van. They
then packed it with sets and Bob drove off thinking about what Ken
had said. He was a bit unhappy about arguing with him but he was
sure his thinking was correct.

He gave Leo
more sets on his way to Southampton and asked if he could come to
lunch on Monday, June 3rd.

“
Don’t
know. Let me call Lena and see if she can watch the shop that day.”
He dialled, asked and hung-up the phone.

“
Yes.
She can be here. Where are we going?”

“
It’s
not been decided. Rose, Jenny, Ken will be coming too. Can you
suggest anywhere?”

“
If the
girls are coming it had better be in a restaurant near them. You or
Ken will know the places near the Ends better than I do. Chose one
and tell me where we’re going and what time and I’ll find
it.”

“
All
right. Then keep the 3rd free and I’ll phone you early next week.
‘Bye Leo.”

“
Cheers
Bob.”

Many owners
smiled when they saw Bob entering the shops in Southampton and said
they liked Julie’s profile. He thanked them, chatted and asked, as
soon as an opportunity offered, if any Americans bought toys there.
They told him that they frequently bought wooden articles, “perhaps
because they are lighter than metal or pottery objects.” When he
asked if they would put up a sign to promote his toys they all
refused. “If we did that everybody would want to do the same,” he
was told. ‘So that’s that,’ he thought. ‘If the shops wouldn’t
promote the toys he’d have to find another way.’

When he got
back to the shop he told Ken what the owners said about selling to
Americans and added “I’ll try to find out if the shops they have
onboard would post a notice.”

“
I bet
they’d charge a lot to do that.”

“
Yes I
suppose so. All right I’ll forget the idea. Oh, June 3rd is okay
for Leo. He suggested we chose a place near here so Rose and Jenny
could get to the restaurant easily.”

“
Where
it is doesn’t matter much, you or I could drive them to it. How
about going to
The Windlass Tree
in Warmly? Mary and I’ve been there a few times. They have a
good menu.”

“
Sounds
good. If you have their number, would you make the
arrangements.”

“
Sure.
I’ll call them now.” Five minutes later they had a window table
reserved for one o’clock.

“
I can
take Rose and Jenny, Ken. Leo will drive himself.”

“
Why
don’t I take all of you? I know where to park if their lot’s
full.”

“
All
right. I’ll phone Jenny and Leo and tell them and I’ll tell Rose
tomorrow night.”

“
We made
another seven hundred this week Bob. With those and another seven
hundred next week we’ll have close to twenty five hundred sets.
That’s the number we set when we said we’d take the gang to
lunch.”

“
So
we’re making twenty five hundred each month now?”

“
It’ll
soon be nearer to three thousand. I’m keeping my fingers crossed
about selling them, Bob. We can make them but can we sell them?
That’s the big question.”

“
Yes it
is, you’re right about that. It’ll take another month or more to
find the answer. We’ll have to increase our territory though, if
we’re going to sell that many, two hundred shops isn’t enough. I’ll
have to look for other
Gift and Toy
Associations
, those that border our territory and
visit their retailers. Julie could probably tell me the
association’s addresses and I could get membership lists from
them.”

“
I’ve
got a simpler idea Bob. Why not just go to the bigger towns? That
must be where most of our toys sell. Doing that would save you a
lot of time. For instance, you could just go to Bristol or
Basingstoke or Portsmouth. You could do the villages
later.”

“
I’d
have to stay two or three nights in each area if I did that. And
we’d need a bigger van. Let me think about it.”

Chapter 22 The barbecue

It was the
usual weekend for Bob. Washing, dusting and cleaning,
grocery-buying in Small End, gardening and an afternoon walk on
Sunday. During his walk he thought more about selling mostly in the
towns. The idea was attractive; he could explore the towns in the
evenings, something he would like to do, and the evenings were
lighter these days. He would be able to find and eat in different
restaurants, paid for by the company, but staying away from home
might generate a new feeling, that of loneliness. He’d seen what
looked like salesmen sitting by themselves in pubs in the evenings,
having nothing to do but drink. They looked as though they were
lonely and he didn’t want that to happen to him.

In the end he
decided it would be good for him and for the company. He’d try it
for a while and just treat it as a new experience, something to be
enjoyed for a while, not something he would do forever. If he
didn’t like it then they’d hire a man to do the deliveries.

There
was no news at the Crown Saturday night. Everyone knew that the
Community Centre’s walls were up. “They’ll have the roof on and the
doors and windows in place by the end of next week,” Jane
forecasted. Joe was very busy in his fields and greenhouses, Jack
had occasional work with the developers but the unions didn’t like
non-union workers so it wasn’t easy to find a job. He was
constantly looking for cottages to buy or people who wanted
renovations done. Bob showed them the
Toy
and Gift Association’
s newsletter and read what Julie
had written. They were all very pleased for him. “Should boost your
sales a lot,” said Joe.

As they left
the pub Bob told Rose the date of the lunch. Jack overheard and
asked if he could come too. “No way Jack,” said Rose. “You’ll be
looking after the shop.”

Bob told Ken
first thing Monday morning that he would try his suggestion and
concentrate on the bigger towns. “I’ll also stop at any shops I see
on my way of course, no point in not doing that, but I’m not sure
I’ll like being away from home each week.”

“
Try it
for a month.”

“
Yes I
will. I’ll know then if it’s a job for me or if it’s for someone
else. We’ll need a bigger van of course and we should hire someone
to deliver to the nearby shops. He can use the small
van.”

“
All
right, I hope we can find someone.”

“
Well
let’s see if Charles has a bigger van first,” said Bob and he
picked up the phone.

“
We have
a lorry that people borrow when they want to move a house full of
furniture. It that what you want Bob?”

“
No
that’s too big. We want something four or five times bigger than
the van we already have.”

“
You
have the Ford now I think. Let me check the rental sheet. Nothing’s
available now but we’ll have one the size you want next
Monday.”

“
How
much would it cost per month?”

“
Three
hundred and fifty a month.”

“
Okay
we’ll have it. We’ll collect it Monday afternoon.”

“
Who’s
driving it?”

“
I will
be Charles.”

“
Oh. Are
you returning the Ford then?”

“
No.
We’re going to hire another driver.”

“
Okay.
Do you know how long you’ll want the new van?”

“
Let’s
start with a month but we might want it longer. We’ll let you
know.”

“
All
right. I’ll book it. One Ford Transit, June 3rd, collected in the
afternoon. We’ll have it ready for you. And it will be clean, of
course! Thanks for calling us. ‘Bye Bob.”

“’
Bye
Charles,” said Bob. “Now we’ll have to find a driver Ken. Jack said
he’d help when he didn’t have any construction work but he wouldn’t
become an employee and he wouldn’t be available if something more
in his line turned up.”

“
Well we
won’t want a full-time driver right now. All we need is some one to
fill phoned-in orders. Maybe we’d need a man once or twice a week.
Oh that reminds me, Lori has another list for you. About twenty
shops.”

“
No
problem, I’ll do them this week.”

“
And
Bob, I’ve been thinking about the lunch for the gang and the
decision not to increase their wages for a while. I do want to
reward them somehow. What do you think about making the last
afternoon of each month a holiday? We could have our celebration
lunch and they wouldn’t have to return to work. Do you like the
idea?”

“
Yes I
do.”

“
Okay
let’s do it. This month I’d like to hold the lunch at my place and
have a barbecue. I’ve talked to Mary about doing this and she says
she’ll do all the arranging. We’ll buy beer and soft drinks. What
do you think? Will that be okay?”

“
Yes
that’d be very nice, they’ll enjoy that. They can swim or fish if
they want to as well. Tell them about it in the tea break, I want
to see how they react. Keep all the bills, the company should pay
for that kind of expense.”

“
All
right.”

“
It
should also pay my hotel and meal bills when I’m
working.”

“
Of
course it should, so you keep all your bills too.”

Everyone loved
the idea of having a barbecue at Ken’s home on Friday.

“
Bob or
I can drive you there and bring you back,” Ken said. “You could
swim in the river if you want for I live beside the Tusset. Or try
fishing.”

“
It’ll
be too cold for swimming,” said Craig. “I felt the temperature
yesterday with my friends because we like swimming. But fishing
should be okay. We fish by the bridge near your place.”

“
What do
you catch?” asked Lori.

“
Carp,
roach, perch and pike mostly.”

“
Do you
eat them?”

“
I eat
the perch. I never eat pike because it’s got too many
bones.”

“
Well
could you bring your rod?” Lori said. “I’ve never tried
fishing.”

“
Sure.”

“
I’m
glad you all like the idea,” Ken said. “Bob and I also think that
the last afternoon of every month should be a holiday so you don’t
have to return to work after the lunch. However in future you’ll
have to decide where you’d like to go to eat.”

“
You
mean we’ll get a holiday and a lunch each month?” asked
Craig.

“
Yes. I
think that’s the easiest way to arrange the lunches instead of
waiting until we produce twenty five hundred. We’ll be doing that
or more each month from now on I’m sure.”

“
Can we
go to the Ritz for lunch?” asked Lori, with a smile.

“
No. We
have pub-style lunches in mind. But we could do something better at
Christmas.”

“
We
won’t be here then,” said Jose.

“
You
might, if they throw you out of college,” said Luke.

“
I had
higher marks than you at school, so you can’t talk.”

“
Just
kidding. They won’t throw you out.”

Bob
phoned
Salisbury Boxes
after
the tea break and explained why they wouldn’t buy the plastic lids.
Then he loaded the van and began delivering, going East that day,
North on Tuesday and West on Wednesday. It was a pity the towns
weren’t closer, driving took up fifty percent of the
time.

Thursday he
worked in his own shop. Whilst driving he’d considered what kind of
new toy he should make. He first thought about making extra pieces
for the existing sets. a garage or a milk van, a school or a swing
set for the village set, or a tractor, wagon, some hay stacks and a
chicken pen with miniature chickens for the farm but discarded the
idea because they weren’t “new toys.” Then he considered the toys
he’d seen in the magazines and eventually decided to make different
kinds of vehicles driven by miniature men. Children could do things
with that kind of toy. He’d make a fire engine with a moveable
ladder first.